Thursday, January 03, 2013

Final Note: Patti Page, singer of "Tennessee Waltz," dead at 85

Born Clara Ann Fowler, Page was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s and had 19 gold and 14 platinum singles. Page landed on the charts 111 times, and her blend of genres made her a traditional-pop icon. She scored her first million-selling track in 1950 with "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming," and sang hits like "(How Much Is That) Doggie in the Window" and "Old Cape Cod." Her signature track, "Tennessee Waltz," later became an official state song of Tennessee, and her popularity led to her own TV shows on CBS, NBC and ABC in the Fifties and film roles in the Sixties

They also note that before her death it was announced she is to be one of this year's recipients of the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Awards at this year's Grammy ceremony.

I don't know if my mother remembers, but when I was a little kid, she used to go around the house singing Page's "How Much is that Doggie in the Window." My favourite, and my wife's favourite, is Page's signature "Tennessee Waltz."

There's all kinds of music out there, and people were selling a lot of records long before most of us were born.